The fundamental basis for the proposed work is that communities of minorities and disadvantaged persons in smaller cities and towns differ in important ways from those in very large cities. Although there are substantial overlaps in the health problems threatening both types of communities, there are significant differences in the extent and character of health disparities, and in the remedies that are possible or have been attempted by local governments. The result, we contend, is that they are less well served, less healthy, and in need of programs that address the requirements of their unique position. The proposed work seeks to determine if this contention is true, and, based on the assumption that it is, to launch pilot programs to determine their specific problems and requirements, and to seek remedies tailored to the unique position of what New Yorkers call upstate communities. An important goal of this application is to build capacity at the University at Albany to address the problems of minority health status and health disparities through research, community outreach, existing expertise that is distributed across multiple units at the University at Albany, and that by bringing them all under one roof, will synergistically build capacity; and, 2) existing, close partnerships with community groups serving the minority and disadvantaged communities in Amsterdam and Albany New York. With this grant, the University at Albany will be ready to apply for a center grant {P20 or P60) to extend the scope of its work to the upstate New York minority communities in smaller cities. [unreadable] [unreadable]